"Invasion from IceClan!" Quickslash yowled while tearing through the camp entrance. Sharpflower bristled in anger, "How dare they!? We just shared-!"she stopped herself. Nightstorm, looked at her, "You what?!" he exclaimed in anger. Immediately she wished she hadn't opened her mouth.
Darkstar interrupted, "We will deal with her, later. Nightstorm, take a couple of warriors and follow Quickslash to the battle." He jumped off of the roof of his den, and pelted into the forest. A couple of warriors that were already in camp nodded, and followed the DarkClan deputy out; Sharpflower did not join them. She hung her head, ashamed of the mistake that she had made.
The Sun was shining dimly through the tree leaves, and there was an unpleasant warm breeze. Shaking off the temptation to talk to some cat, she left the camp in the direction of the "Empty Side" of the territory. This was the least explored land of all of DarkClan's territory, because it bordered with no other Clan. There was a slight border, that was patrolled every couple of moons, but it wasn't serious. The forest that the Clan lived in was huge, and they couldn't handle all of the land. There would be no cats there, so Sharpflower took the opportunity to be alone. When she left the camp, her spine shook. With a shudder, she recalled the last time she came to this place.
No matter what season it was, this forest always seemed to be… colder….emptier; and the last time she was here, she felt as if she was being watched.
It had not changed; she soon felt the cooler air, and her pelt crackled with the feeling of being watched. But this time, she paid no attention. With the situation in her mind, Sharpflower began to wander, letting her mind flow between her opinions.
Sharpflower, Lightray, and Roseleaf had met a friendly IceClan patrol two days ago. The seven cats decided to take a small break and chat. Unfortunately, they wound up breaking the warrior code when they were being too friendly. DarkClan knew that IceClan was starving. The cats had looked thin when they had met, and their tempers held, so the DarkClan patrol decided to help them. Did I do something…wrong? She had broken the warrior code and upheld it at the same time. She had shown mercy, being more than just a member of the Clan.
A sudden jerk pulled her out of her thoughts. Panic flooded her mind when she found she was falling downward, but she calmed when she fell down a hole that wasn't deep. Dirt and dust settled around her as darkness pulled over her vision. She shook off her pelt and noticed that she could easily escape. It was a big enough hole for a whole cat to fit inside, but it wasn't deep. Sharpflower's heart was pounding from the startle, and her breathing was difficult, but through this, she noticed there was a small tunnel in front of her. It would be a difficult fit, probably used by an unusually large rabbit. But the air coming from it was cold and ancient, and it smelled of Darkness. The senior warrior thought she should report it, but then dismissed it. Where's your sense of adventure? she scolded herself. Taking a deep breath, she squeezed through the hole. It was darker on the other side, and it widened. She could stand fully up, now, but not see very well.
There was a solid rock wall to her left, and she had no idea how long it went. She sniffed the air; it smelled cold and evil. Something was deeply wrong with this place. She turned around, deciding to leave.
"Hello," a voice made her jump. Terrified, she whipped around, pelt fluffing up. A cat was in front of her, but it was too dark to make out any of his features. She was too stunned to speak. A head tilted. "You don't look familiar," he said.
"H-h-hel-l-oo," she stammered, "W-w-ho- ar-r-re you?" She slunk slowly to the ground.
"I was the beginning," he responded, "But I have forgotten. I have been forgotten." He paused, "Do you know The Darkness?" The question made Sharpflower stop breathing. The, The Darkness?
"The Darknesssssss?" she almost lost control of the phrase, "I am his mother."
"Oh!" the cat exclaimed, "I have not introduced myself. My name is Fallen." Suddenly, there was a very loud rumbling sound from everywhere. The cat's indistinguishable head looked around calmly, while Sharpflower's was whipping around. There was shaking everywhere, the warrior didn't know if she would fall over or not. Terror gripped her heart as she was going to ask what was happening, but Fallen cut her off, "The Sun must be going down," he murmured half to himself, and then the flash of his eyes turned towards her, "You should leave." And he turned and walked deeper into the cave, blending in with the darkness. Panicked, she turned around and squeezed through the hole she came in, but the other side was dark as if the hole she dropped through was covered up. For a heartbeat, she just stayed still in fear. StarClan help me!
As she finished the thought, the rumbling became worse, and the dirt covering the world above exploded down towards her. Small flicks of daylight came through the explosion as teeth grabbed her scruff and hauled her out of the hole.
"What were you doing down there?" Darkstar's angry voice was heard above. But when she was completely out of the hole, there was no one around her.
The forest was quiet, and empty. She whipped around, looking for her son.
Nothing; had she just imagined that?
Terrified even more, she raced back to camp.